Most-Wanted Recordings:

Concert Recordings (Complete & Verified):

As most people, DMB allows their shows to be recorded by the audience. I have a bunch of uncompressed, complete, and verified show recordings that I am more than happy to trade. The list is available on my antsmarching.org “have list”. I prefer to trade electronically (FTP, Direct Connect, etc.) but standard postal mail is fine as well. Send me an e-mail if you’re interested.

Hearing Protection

Have you noticed your ears ringing the day after a concert? I’d noticed this several times. Then I learned that every time you hear ringing, you have suffered permanent, non-reversible hearing loss.

Unfortunately, if you just put in a pair of standard ear plugs, you will hear no higher-pitched frequencies and only a lot of non-damaging bass frequencies. This really takes away from the enjoyment of the show. So how do you protect your hearing and enjoy the show in all of it’s sonic fidelity?

There are two options that I can recommend:

The first is Etymotic ER-9 earplug. These are custom fitted earplugs that offer true sonic fidelity. The cost is about the same a pair of concert tickets: $120 for the ear plugs and $10 for a do-it-yourself mold required to make plugs that fit your ears, available from CustomEarPiece.com. You will not even notice they’re there, except no ringing the next morning. I actually purchased my from a local hearing aid store for the same price.

A second, less expensive option is to order the Etymotic ER-20 earplugs for a cost of $10/pair directly from Etymotic. These earplugs pass high frequencies fairly well and will certainly protect your hearing; I like the nearly invisible clear color. They are not as comfortable or as sonically accurate as the ER-9 option though.

Everyone on stage with the Dave Matthews Band wears hearing protection. See Sensaphonics.com, slicsound.com, or shure.com for more details. To enjoy concerts and other music in the future, protect your hearing today. Yeah, I sound like a commercial, but it’s something I feel strongly about.

A quote from the Sensaphonics web site:

“Michael Santucci and Sensaphonics, with the design of superior ear-worn monitors and unprecedented focus on safety, play an important role in our performances. . .”

2 Comments

I got the $10 pair, there’s a concert next month and can’t wait to try them out! I’m thinking there might be a big difference between the the two pairs because of the price, but then i always remember that smaller venue live bands don’t always sound that great to begin with so………

I just ordered some “cheap” backup plugs from http://EarPeace.com/ . They seem to be pretty comfortable and inconspicuous, but I haven’t tried them at a concern yet. I plan to keep a couple of pair in each car, as I sometimes forget my custom-fitted plugs, or didn’t know I was going to need them.